long overdue london weekend

so ive been dreading putting up this final post because i knew it would be lengthy. i guess ill give a brief recap of my awesome last weekend in europe with Jessica-Phillips in London. i left bilbao on the 18th of December and flew to london. JP wasnt getting there until the next day so i made my way to her aunts flat alone. of course my luggage started to break so it was a lot of fun getting it on and off the tube once again. i guess my trip wouldnt have been complete without one last luggage failure. i was exhausted and sore so i spent the night in and just relaxed. JP wasnt getting in until later so I went to Abbey Road and Oxford Street during the day. JP's flight was cancelled so she was sent on a wild goose chase to find another way to london. she ended up flying to birmingham and then taking a train to london. I was so happy to see her! it was almost like we were back in August just starting our trip together. i couldnt have thought of a more perfect way to end my semester than in the place where it started with one of my best friends! we saw billy elliot!!!! (we literally had to run before they locked us out of the theater because we were a bit late!) and then we rode the double decker bus around and looked at all of the christmas lights. sunday was jam packed. we shopped up and down oxford street and saw even more decorations, we went to the Winder Wonderland in Hyde Park, we made our way back to notting hill and had a strawberry beer in our favorite pub then we attempted to find the street where the movie "notting hill" takes place on but were given the wrong directions by a disgruntled local ha. we rode another bus around and got off at a random stop where we saw a tube station. we took the tube to kings cross and saw Platform 9 3/4! once again, a security officer thought we were idiots. when we asked him where it was he responded "o, you mean the half a trolley sticking out of a wall." YES! that is exactly what we meant. i didnt know the next time i would be in london so i wanted to see everything i could. we headed back and packed for our day of traveling. we got to the airport early, which was good then embarked on what seemed like the longest flight EVER!!!!!! i watched so many movies/tv shows and didnt really sleep at all. we got to atlanta and went through a very thorough customs process then waited for our next flights. at that point my tiredness really hit me. the flight to new orleans was ok, i was so ready to be off planes by then. when i walked out into the arrivals i was so delirious i didnt even see my family with the huge banner until they yelled my name haha. i cant really put into words how i felt.i dont think i could explain it really. here are the pictures from the weekend. enjoy!

crossing the t's and dotting the i's

the past few days have been a jumble of bittersweet memories. wednesday amanda and i took a trip up the funicular. it was the second time i had been up it but i was glad i went again. the views of bilbao from there are amazing. there is something about being able to oversee things that makes you step back and appreciate it a little more. afterwards we wandered around casco viejo in search of some gifts amanda needed to buy. we got some coffee at this awesome little to go place and then headed back to the dorm. we had our closing ceremony that night. the practicum class put on a play at the beginning (amanda (my roomie) was in it) it was really good! after the directors talked a little bit and gave us our grades etc. everyone went to the crazy horse pub after for a drink together. nothing big after that just packed and hung out with friends at the dorm.

thursday, all of my dorm buddies left at 5am! i woke up and saw them off but the combination of me being half asleep and surrealism made it feel like they werent really leaving. i went back to bed for bit then had to wake up to drop a box off at a friends and also tell Lauren goodbye. i then returned to the empty dorm to pack. right as i was about to leave for kimberlys (i stayed there for the night) the fire alarm went off! this was just fantastic since i missed the talk on what to do during a drill on the count of my birthday monday (i thought it was a legit excuse). i made my way to kims and lo and behold, my other suitcase breaks. i was upset for more than one reason. it was then i started to realize everyone was gone. i couldnt turn to amanda and laugh at my lack of luck. one bright side was that i had another suitcase i bought in rome. sadly i had given it away, so i had to be an indian giver and take it back (sorry). Kim and I had lunch with Conchi (her host mom). I love that lady more and more. she is absolutely hilarious. we had a convo at lunch about racism which then turned into a conversation about people who put dead people in food (dont ask me). after lunch kimberly and i went to the Guggenheim one last time and saw and exhibit on "Dog Day Afternoon." I picked up a puppy poster and then we headed to casco viejo to the christmas market. we bused it to the dorm so i could get the suitcase and then we went to the grocery to get ingredients because we made dinner for Conchi and her daughter. it actually turned out really good for all of the improvisation we had to do. we made crusted oven fried chicken, broccoli casserole, mashed potatoes and a cheesecake type desert. conchi and her daughter liked it! kim helped me repack and then i headed to bed!

life is like a slideshow

i am officially finished with school for the semester. it feels WONDERFUL to have finals out of the way but now that ive been sitting here, its starting to hit me that this is all ending. classes are over, i have my last english class with the girls tonight, all reminders of the end. dont get me wrong, i miss my loved ones so much but im going to miss Europe so much. I love this continent and cannot wait to come back! i think i might need to wait on reflecting on my time here because it will make me sad. plus i still have tonight and London this weekend to look forward to!

zorionak

so zorionak is Euskera for felicidades or congrats/happy birthday!

i had a great 21st birthday! it was probably a bit more tranquil than it would have been in the states because of finals but i still had a great time! My day started off with a final in my Spanish culture class which ended up being muy facil. I came back to the residence to find my room decorated!

My friends hung up streamers and some decorations my mom sent me! I had a nice

nap in the afternoon and studied for my two finals on Tuesday. I went with some of my best friends here out to dinner! It was so much fun, i couldnt have asked for more. we went to a restaurant called "crazy horse." it is a very cool place, they play a lot of american classic rock and have records on the walls. they also have awesome french fries and bbq sauce! dinner was excellent, then

my friends surprised me with a cake! my mom sent candles so we used those. little did i know, they were trick candles.i swear the entire restaurant filled with smoke because they kept coming back to life. we then decided to put them in a glass with water, but even then they kept re-lighting! after some frantic reaching across the table we poured a combo of water and maybe a little cerveza on them haha. we had a great time on one of our last nights here!

i felt very loved and am grateful to everyone who made my birthday so special!

Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes!

celebrations

Friday night we had a Christmas dinner gala at the dorm! It was fun and very entertaining. Its kind of a big production here. All the guys had on suits and the girls put on their best dresses! Of course, we didnt want to be maleducado, so we dressed up too! The residence choir sang christmas songs before and then we went to the dinning hall to eat! A few weeks ago we had to sign up for tables. Amanda, Taylor, Astrid, Molly, Rachel and I decided to be a table. I was not aware that you were supposed to name your table (for the sake of place cards) so upon arriving in the dinning room, we discovered we had been given the name "Little Timy". We are not quite sure if it referred to A Christmas Carol or what but we all thought it was pretty funny. The food wasnt great but I wasnt expecting it to be haha. The company was what made it fun. The six of us each told what we are going to miss about each other and reminisced on all of our fun times. At the end of the dinner, they passed out goody bags and champagne. We proceeded to discover party hats, masks, blowers, streamers and a novel in spainsh! (yes, the book was a random surprise, I got "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" in spanish haha). We had a great time toasting and playing with our party favors!

Kimberly's birthday was saturday night so we baked a cake and went out on the town to celebrate! I was so happy i could spend her birthday with her in Spain!

last class

today was the last day of classes.

agridulce is the best word to describe how i'm feeling. bittersweet.

we have two days of finals and then our closing ceremony next week, thats it. its over. a whole semester, gone. it seems like its been so long but also like its gone in the blink of an eye. i know everyone says that, but its because its true. this weekend i am going to make the most of every minute i have with the people here. we are celebrating kimberlys birthday, have our christmas dinner at the residence and our last eramus party tonight!

he aprendido mucho y nunca olvidaré esta experiencia

everything is beautiful

this weekend was our long holiday weekend in spain! i went with amanda astrid and taylor to the Pyrenees! It was incredible. We left Friday en route to Jaca. We had to go through Pamplona again. We had a three hour layover so we decided to go ice-skating. it was amusing to say the least. I'm not the most coordinated person, so i was no Michelle Kwan. I was pretty proud that i didnt have to hold onto the wall the entire time! There was a local news station filming and i even got interviewed. Im pretty sure the guys were laughing on the inside the entire time at my attempt to communicate with them in spanish ha! We got on our bus and headed toward Jaca, a small town in the province of Aragon. The drive there was pretty incredible. We went in and out of the mountains and passed a beautiful lake. i saw so many of the tiny villages i love so much! We finally arrived in Jaca. From Jaca we took a cab to our hotel which was about 20km outside of the city. We stayed at Las Magas. it was a beautiful hotel, very modern and the service was great! the concierge even helped us workout a deal with a taxi driver who agreed to drive us around the whole weekend for a set price!

for our first full day in the Pyrenees we went to a small skiing village

called Panticosa. It was one of the most incredibl

e places ive ever been. on the drive there we steadily climbed higher into the mountains. we began to see more and more snow! leading up to the town were the most beautiful old houses and another lake. the cliffs dropped straight off and there was this jade colored lake! snow was still on

the ground (melting a little) but the town was so cute! astrid and taylor went skiing and amanda

and i explored the town. we got to go into the church, which was built in the 11th century! It never ceases to amaze me when i see these chruches that are hundreds and hundreds of years old still standing. the brains that must have gone into their construction blows my mind. they are completely made of stones but still are beautiful and strong. we meandered through the tiny

streets and looked at all of the stores. one of my favorite things was that they had Christmas music playing throughout the city! amanda and i even came upon a family of kittens. they were so

cute! we couldnt resist, so we bought a can of catfood and fed them. it might not have been the best idea but we couldnt help it!

sunday we decided to explore the town of Jaca. we attempted to go iceskating but the lady who worked there was adamant that we come back at 5 since they were closing soon for lunch/siesta. instead, we walked to the old town. we wandered through the streets, stopping at the occasional store (no buying, just browsing for me). we made our way to the cathedral

(it wasnt a cathedral like notre dame, but it was beautiful on the inside). as we were walking in we realized mass was starting so we decided to go! It was a lovely service, and such a blessing to be able togo to mass in such an old, historic building. after we went to lunch at a restaurant our driver

recommended called La Cadiera. this was probably the highlight of they. We felt so "spanish" because we ordered dishes typical to the region of

Aragon, and they were DELICIOUS! One was called Migas (bread, kindof crumbled but moist with flavoring, and an egg!) it doesnt sound like much but is was sooo good! I also got sopa montanesa (spanish version of french onion soup) which was excellent. taylor and astrid ordered typical meat dishes which were delicious as well! we had such a good time eating and talking. lunch took a while (another reason we felt spanish). after, we walked to "la cuidadela" (the old fortress, similar to the one i saw in Pamplona). all in all, it was a great last weekend trip! it was very relaxing and care free. i will definitely miss the ease of traveling here. i have had some great times with good friends!

winding down

so this was our last full week of class....and its over. we (the dorm kids) also had our first goodbye today. Our neighbor Aida, a Norwegian nursing student, left to go back to norway today. it was weird because it didnt quite exactly feel like she was really leaving. she was the sweetest person ever, always smiling! i will miss her. another sad thing about today was that it was our last class with our teacher Fransisco. He is one of my favorite professors i have ever had. he loves learning the most random things in english and always makes us laugh. he is also a great teacher! he is having surgery tomorrow. we all hope he is well enough to come to our graduation ceremony thing. on a high note, we have a five day weekend/holiday! i am going to the Pyrenees! hopefully there will be snow and many pictures to share with yall!

taking the bull by the horns

I spent a wonderful day in Pamplona today! Pamplona is a city in Spain most known for being the Roman city in Spain, the Running of the Bulls and Ernest Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises." I had been wanting to visit because I almost studied abroad there! It was a little chilly when we arrived but I was so excited. The bus station was right next to the old city fort so we decided to go there first. It was so neat to see the old walls that used to surround/protect the city. Taylor and I enjoyed blowing dandelions at each other! Michael, a friend from Ole Miss who is studying in Pamplona met us at the fort and graciously took on the job of being our tour guide for the day! We made our way to Casco Vieojo where we walked along the street that the bulls run down on the festival of San Fermin (first picture on the left). We saw the outside of the bull-ring, but apparently it is only open the week of the Running of the Bulls. It was interesting because you could see the covered holesthat are removed each year to block the street off for the bulls. We decided to eat chinese for lunch and let me tell you, we feasted. After we walked to the Cathedral but as we got there a priest was closing the gate! We walked to the oldest part of Pamplona and then walked along more of the ancient walls. We came to a cool look-out that you could almost see France from! The walls were built up in levels for protection. We also got to see the original entrance gateway. We also saw the ayuntameinto (town hall). The city was quiet because it was siesta so we decided to have coffee and dessert at the famous Cafe Iruna! We strolled around a little more and wandered into Corte Ingles for a few items. As we were pulling out on the bus back to Bilbao I also saw the first lit Christmas lights of the season!!! It was a short but sweet visit. Definitely good to see familiar faces and Michael was so great to show us around all day!

We couldnt leave without posing with bulls!

A Spanish Thanksgiving

so yesterday was Thanksgiving in the U.S. for most of the day it didnt quite feel like Thanksgiving because 1.) I had school and 2.) i had a test. While i was sad not to be with my family i was excited because our professors and program directors had a Thanksgiving dinner for us! I really was so grateful that they did it for us. In Spain the last Thursday of November holds no significant value. To them it is just another Thursday. Our professors know that it is an important day for us and were gracious enough to celebrate it with us! The dinner was very nice. We had pumpkin soup, turkey, mashed potatoes and a type of pumpkin bread for desert! I even brought the decorations my mom sent me to put on our tables! The professors liked them so much they asked if they could keep them for next year! I really enjoyed Thanksgiving with my spanish family and even got to skype my family back home! I'm proud to say that they won the 4th annual Shmucker bowl once again! Yay Romig/Tucker clan! After dinner a bunch of went to the last Erasmus party. All in all it was a good Thanksgiving, given the fact that technically it wasnt (i did miss bread pudding though :( o well...ill have some in a few weeks!)!

recipe

so a phenomenon recently swept through spain in the form of a drink and it started here in the north! The drink called a "kalimotxo" (pronounced kal-e-mo-cho...its a Basque word). I kind of think we should bring it to the US. here is the recipe:

• Equal parts coca-cola and red wine

yes it sounds strange, i know. i was skeptical the first time i tried it, and im not even a huge coke person, but its actually pretty good. i have a few friends here who LOVE it, but i know it probably wont be for everyone. i dont know why i waited so long to share it. Enjoy!

futbol

i went to my first Athletic game last night!!! (Bilbao Athletic is the name of the team) it was the most fun i have had in a long time!!! i spent the day with amanda, astrid, and taylor. we went to a market in Algorta and then went to Areeta and looked at shops and had lunch. I had a nice siesta when i got back and then we got ready for the game! We all wore red, black, and white (team colors) and even found face paint! We realized that face painting is nonexistent here when we started to get funny looks because of ours. i personally think the spaniards were jealous they didnt think of it first. we actually got approached by people wondering who painted our faces and they

wanted theirs painted. too bad they were for Barcelona! before the game we grabbed bocadillos and drinks at a restaurant and then made our way to the stadium. we sat with some more friends from our program. im not an expert on soccer but i loved the atmosphere. people are very passionate about their teams here (which is kind of an understatement if youve heard about the whole ireland vs france saga that happened last week). the game ended in a tie 1-1. Bilbaoians were pretty excited about this because Barcelona is the #1 team, and if Madrid won then they would get knocked out of the number one spot (or something like that)!

also, im not sure if i previoulsy mentioned the tricked out strollers here in spain but i finally snapped a couple of shots of some i saw. yes, one even has an umbrella attachment!

teaching twins

so i forgot to mention that about a week ago i met a lady who wanted two people to teach her children and her sisters children a little english through conversation and games. today was my first day! I am teaching two twin girls who live in the Deusto area. the girls and their parents are really sweet and im excited about the next few weeks. im sad that i only get to meet with them five times. i would have loved to have had something like this to do all semester. a girl in my program is going to take over next semester when i leave. sometimes i feel like im not a great teacher but im trying and i hope the girls will take something away from our classes! today we did the alphabet and clothes. im going to try and really plan in advance so that they have fun and are not bored.

why im here

Today was one of those days that reminded me that i'm where i'm supposed to be. amanda, taylor, astrid, and i decided to take

a day trip to San Sebastian, a city located on the northern coast of spain. it is very popular in the summer and an international film festival is held there every year (Brad Pitt was there this year!). it is only an hour away and buses leave Bilbao every hour, so it was not difficult to get there. it was on the bus ride, of all places, that i had my moment of realization. i fell even more in love with the countryside and the little pueblos that surround the city. the mountains are beautiful and lush and i absolutely love the houses dotting their hillsides. i just want to be tucked away in one overlooking everything. it made realize that there are so many places i want to see and still so much i want to do!

once we arrived in san sebastian we made our way toward the aquarium. parts of san sebastian remind me of paris in a way. the architecture is beautiful and the apartments are so cute. the beach and harbor are gorgeous as well. the aquarium was a lot fun. at first i was starting to doubt its coolness because an entire floor was just displays - no animals! but then we finally found the fishies!!! it wasnt a huge aquarium so we took our time at each exhibit. i got to pet a star-fish and a sea cucumber!

we also saw the craziest thing ive seen in quite some time. im going to try and explain it to the best of my abilities. it was a tank of tiny sharks. at first i just thought it was sharks but then we realized it was tank that displayed the breeding habits of this particular shark. so the shark lays an egg. from that egg develops a hard corn-husk like sac that anchors to coral or algae so it wont get carried away by the current. inside the sac is everything the shark needs to develop. it takes about 9 months!

as it gets closer to being born the sac becomes more translucent and you can actually see the baby shark inside moving around. You are also able to see the nourishment sac and how its connected to it! it really was incredible. a few of the sacs looked like they were almost ready for the shark to be born. the babies were moving around quite a bit and it looked like they might break out! the pictures arent the best but you can kind of see what im talking about! Lunch was AMAZING compared to the dorm food! we ate at a restaurant called la vaca. I got a delicious sandwhich with grilled chicken and bbq sauce (the real kind) and onion rings. afterwards we got gelato! the town was pretty quite because it was siesta time. we walked around the deserted streets and made our way back to the bus stop to catch a bus back to bilbao. it was a great day.

I love how when you least expect it you are given those moments that remind you how truly blessed you are. I am so thankful for this experience and i love how life reminds me of that in the little things!

i'll pass thanks...

two posts in one day, i know its big, but this couldnt wait. i had to share with the world what we had for dinner tonight! enjoy!!!

jobros

yes, i did it. i went to the Jonas Brothers concert in Bilbao last night! ill admit that they are my guilty pleasure and it was worth every penny!! i went with kimberly and emily and we had a BLAST!!! one of my personal highlights was when big rob came out and rapped with them in burin' up! ok, enough said. i dont want yall to think im too insane. enjoy the pics!